3 Muslim groups eyed in Makati bus bombing

MANILA, Philippines -  Police investigators have narrowed down to three Muslim extremist groups the possible suspects in last week’s Makati City bus bombing.

National Capital Region Police Office (NCRPO) chief Director Nicanor Bartolome said their investigation into the incident is progressing “very well” but they have not zeroed in on the particular group behind the bombing.

Bartolome said they already ruled out the Muslim extremist Al Khobar because deeper investigation showed that extortion was not the motive behind the blast that left five people dead and 13 others injured.

He said Al Khobar is also involved in bus bombings in North Cotabato mainly with extortion as motive.

The 81 mm mortar bomb with a cellular phone as triggering device is a signature of Muslim extremists Rajah Solaiman, Moro Islamic Liberation Force lost command and MILF Special Operation Group (SOG), a member of the Task Force Goldliner told The STAR.

Records showed that the Rizal Day bombings, which involved five locations, in December 2000 left 22 people dead and 115 others injured. After three years, police and military personnel arrested Muklis Yunos, a member of the MILF-SOG, and two others.

The 2005 Valentine’s Day bombing left four people dead and 60 others injured and it took police and military investigators seven months to arrest three suspected members of the Rajah Solaiman terrorist group.

The SuperFerry bombing in 2004 left 116 people dead and a year later six Abu Sayyaf bombers were arrested for the incident.

“It would take us time before we could satisfactorily establish who planted the bomb and identify the suspects in the incident like in the three past bombing incidents. We are still in the process of analyzing recovered evidence,” said a police official.

Bartolome admitted that prank callers have been hampering their investigation. He said at least 10 text messages and other reports were received by the NCRPO since the artist sketch of the two persons who could help police identify who planted the bomb was released.

“Our manpower was exhausted by validating these reports which all turned out to be negative. We could have used them in other purposes for our investigation to move forward speedily,” the NCRPO chief said, clarifying that the persons in the sketch are not yet outright suspects in the bombing.

The NCRPO chief urged the public to report only information that would help police in identifying the suspects.

Illustration of seating arrangement released

As this developed, Task Force Goldliner released yesterday the artist illustration of the seating arrangement of 26 people inside the bus at the time the bomb exploded.

A copy of the illustration obtained by The STAR showed that the bomb was planted at the sixth row, next to the seats of lovers Johansson Reyes (19) and Shirley Kristel Ausena (18) – who were job hunting when the blast took away their lives.

A member of Task Force Goldliner said doctor’s findings show that Ausena suffered the “most severe” injuries as her torso was also affected by the blast— unlike other passengers who only sustained injuries in their legs.

Reyes’s body, on the other hand, was found slumped along the bus aisle after the explosion tore the lovers’ seat apart.

Other fatalities were identified as Johnlie Daquioag (23) from San Pedro, Laguna; Irish Teniola (24) of Sampaloc, Manila; and Mariano Salustiano (20) of Pasig City.

A ranking police official also told The STAR that the illustration is “important” to determine which seats were occupied by the suspected bomb couriers and who among the passengers saw them.

“Because of this (illustration) we were able to identify the ‘two persons of interests’ who possibly brought the bomb inside the bus,” the police official said.

Aside from the bus driver and conductor, three passengers also described the two “persons of interests” to a police artist.

The police official withheld the names of the 21 survivors for security reasons and for fear of jeopardizing their investigation into the incident.

The Task Force Goldliner established that there were 26 people on board the bus when the mortar bomb ripped the Newman Goldliner on the northbound lane of EDSA corner Buendia Avenue.

Authorities have already interviewed 19 of the survivors while the two others remain in the intensive care unit of a hospital.

Meanwhile, a caller warned yesterday of two more bus explosions, including those at the Superlines bus terminal in Cubao and the Eton Centris building at the corner of EDSA and Quezon Avenue.

Inspector Arnulfo Franco, chief of Quezon City Police District’s Explosive and Ordnance Disposal division (QCPD-EOD), said the Superlines terminal received the first call at around 2 p.m. Tuesday. Bus dispatcher Mars Broqueda said an unidentified male caller told her that two more bus companies will be the next targets.– With Aie Balagtas See, Reinir Padua